Nerds are fighting to bring back gadgets even as iPhone wants them dead
The need for fun, purpose-made gadgets died out with the smartphone revolution, but they're slowly clawing their way back to relevance. As a gadget nerd, that's great news.
Two stories that I read from Aftermath this week made me want to discuss a love of gadgets and our need to bring them back. One was from Gita Jackson about a digital audio player, and another was from Chris Person about a pocketable eReader.
I grew up in the 90s, so I have an inherent love of gadgets. Whether it was Data in The Goonies, the dad in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, or the titular character in Harriet the Spy – having gadgets and gizmos was cool.
If you caught me at any point from eight years old to eighteen, you might find that I had some hoard of stuff somewhere in my room. It started as notebooks, pens, and disposable cameras, then evolved into MP3 players, handheld gaming consoles, knives, wallets, and other similar objects.
There was something for everything, and it all served a purpose. Yes, I was that kid with cargo pants and wired headphones running up my hoodie.
Then, all of a sudden, the smartphone revolution began, and iPhone led the charge. "There's an app for that." It was an ad campaign suggesting your stuff was old and boring, and apps were new, cool, and digital.
Fast forward to today, and my iPhone is my wallet, Game Boy, radio, tape recorder, flashlight, calculator, notepad, phonebook, ledger, grocery list, house key, and many other things. Every year, it seems that that list is getting longer, and the need for other objects is decreasing.
On the one hand, that's exciting. I love that my entire life can be contained in one little rectangle that fits in my pocket. It's revolutionary and convenient.
On the other hand, it is dreadful. I miss my little gadgets and objects, and it seems Apple is hell-bent on making sure they're all rendered useless.
It doesn't have to be this way
Even as I embraced this concept of a singularity taking over every form of gadget and technology, others pushed back. It was outside of my view, but there were people clinging desperately to their love of beautiful and useful objects.
A little more than a decade after the smartphone revolution, something began to break loose. I noticed a shift towards objects that had been supplanted by technology. I initially dismissed it as nostalgia, but then something caught my eye.
The Analogue Pocket is a very cute little device that lets you natively play Game Boy and Game Boy Advanced cartridges at 10x resolution with a backlight. They were impossible to get at first, so I had to ignore them for the most part.
Then, one day, my email inbox showed me an opportunity to order a new transparent version of the little handheld. I jumped on it and snagged one before they sold out.
This little device renewed my interest in collecting old games. I found a Nintendo 64 as well and started finding old games I enjoyed for it too. Later, as it turns out, Analogue made a piece of hardware for playing N64 games, and it has been amazing with my collection of games.
Anyway, since getting that futuristic Game Boy, I've wondered where else I can fit little gadgets in my life. I've purchased some Cortex notepads to help keep track of work projects at my desk, and I've been reviewing more products like iPhone camera accessories or 3D printers.
Apple has actually helped in this space a bit, even though the iPhone still aims to replace everything it can. The Apple Watch is the perfect example of a gadget augmenting your life.
AirTag opened up the floodgates for all kinds of new little devices. I've purchased wallets, keychains, and even a lighter that can house an AirTag.
MagSafe had a similar effect. It was as if Apple suddenly realized people like owning things that aren't an iPhone.
I'd love to see this trend continue. Gaming has seen quite the explosion of purpose-built little guys in recent years. My wallet won't allow it, but I've certainly pined after the many modern versions of PS Vita, Nintendo DS, and other handhelds that have flooded the market recently.
Then there are these two stories from Aftermath. The music player and the eReader.
As an Apple Music user, I would find it difficult to use it any other way than natively on an Apple product. That said, it is possible to buy a music player that runs Android, has a built-in DAC, and download Apple Music and Lossless audio for listening over wired headphones. It's something I'd like to explore when my budget allows.
If anything though, it makes me wish Apple would bring back the iPod. I've also briefly considered We Are Rewind, which sells a gorgeous cassette player and modern boombox.
At least using alternative devices with Apple Music is an option. Which brings me to eReaders.
I've mentioned this before on the AppleInsider Podcast, but I think Apple needs to bring Apple Books to Android as well. This would allow people like me that use Apple Books to explore alternative hardware.
I'd love to check out a Boox or even this interesting Xteink X4 product mentioned in the Aftermath story. But I'm not going to use Amazon, nor do I want to start over elsewhere or pirate collections. Sure, I believe there's a way to get my Apple Books collection out, but then I still want to have my reading sync to my Apple devices.
I don't think it is that far-fetched to think Apple Books could come to other platforms. Fingers crossed.
A return to purpose-built gadgets
I love my iPhone and iPad and will continue finding new ways to utilize them in my life. However, I'm also happy to note that they can coexist with these other products too.
What would be even more interesting is a happy medium between it all. Let my futuristic cassette player send a Bluetooth signal to my iPhone to update play counts in Apple Music. Let's get a save state syncing service that preserves my save data on Analogue and syncs it into a save format compatible with Delta on iPhone.
I own a smart water bottle, scale, and toothbrush. My home is a smart home. Gadgets are certainly making a huge comeback.
It's not that I think everything should be connected to the internet, nor do I even like that as a concept. But I do think that we can embrace the retro idea of gadgetry while taking advantage of modern technologies that improve our quality of life.
As a gadget nerd, it is certainly a very interesting time.